RAMAPHOSA IN NEW STORM
…As he faces criticism after being spotted at auction dinner
JOHANNESBURG - President Cyril Ramaphosa is facing fresh criticism after photos emerged showing that he had attended a cattle auction dinner at his Phala Phala farm on Friday night. This, as citizens wait with bated breath for news on his Cabinet reshuffle.
Earlier in the week, consultations over new appointments to his Cabinet were postponed after it emerged that Ramaphosa had a cold.
News24 reported that Ramaphosa was said to have been unwell since Tuesday, when he hosted Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.
But in photos that emerged over the weekend, he was seen posing for photos with a few people and shaking their hands at the Ntaba Nyoni cattle production auction dinner.
Ugandan MP Wilson Kajwengye also tweeted about Ramaphosa hosting them for dinner at his farm.
Ramaphosa is the biggest Ankole farmer in South Africa. His interest in the breed of long-horned cattle started during a trip to Uganda in 2004.
A source close to the Presidency said that the president recovered from his cold and opted to leave Pretoria for his farm in Limpopo at 10:00 on Friday.
“He just went home. What he does in his spare time is not our business,” he said. The insider said the event had been planned long ago and was not “extraordinary.”
“The reshuffle will still happen.”
A second insider said the President concluded his consultations on the reshuffle and was ready to announce changes.
DA whip in Parliament, Dean Macpherson tweeted: “This “flu” saga playing out with Cyril Ramaphosa is really just another day for him. Like Zuma, he has become immune to criticism, ridicule or accountability. The ANC will defend him instead of asking why he lied about being sick and then hosting a dinner for cattle farmers.”
Build One South Africa leader Mmusi Maimane also weighed in on social media, asking “who is fooling who(m).”
He asked on Twitter: We were told that the cabinet reshuffle is delayed because of the president being down with a cold.
Yet the same president had the energy to attend an Ankole auction. Are we being taken seriously? Are we being respected by the head of state?